Other CDs

The Hives were an entertaining footnote to the guitar renaissance of the early Noughties. They rode in on the Strokes' thrift-store coat-tails as a sharp-suited counterpoint to all that New York ennui. Six years on, with the White Stripes setting the bar for consistent garage rock brilliance, the Swedish band's fourth album feels less timely. It's a shame because they're as effervescent as ever, as shown by the joyful racket of 'You Got it All... Wrong'. Their sound has broadened to take in Pharrell Williams-produced funk and Eighties synths. Whether this will be enough to earn them anything more than nostalgic affection remains to be seen. Ally Carnwath

Underworld Oblivion With Bells (Vital) £10.99

It's been 11 years since Underworld's biggest hit, 'Born Slippy', but the duo shouldn't yet be dismissed as Nineties dance relics. Oblivion With Bells is a marked improvement on 2002's lacklustre A Hundred Days Off. Eschewing banging beats for ambient soundscapes, it might lack the dancefloor-filling anthems of old but it's textured enough not to matter. Karl Hyde's spoken-word vocals are typically captivating. 'Ring Road', a surreal stream of consciousness about hometown Romford, showcases his lyrical talent, while his forlorn monotone perfectly suits 'Beautiful Burnout', a gloomy epic. Hugh Montgomery

Stereophonics Pull the Pin (V2) £12.99

A sample, of all things, opens the sixth album by dedicated rock Luddites the Stereophonics, a war bulletin cut up and looped. But that's where the surprises end. The clip is deployed with predictable clumsiness, a hamfisted stab at political comment which sounds facile and pointless. Kelly Jones gives his usual masterclass in plodding social observation, particularly on the wince-inducing account of a hoodie murder, 'Daisy Lane'. Musically, the album is ploughed from the same joyless furrow as the band's previous work, all clods of earthy rock'n' roll and acoustic dirges. A brave new direction it isn't. AC

Roisin Murphy Overpowered (EMI) £10.99

Can it really be nearly 10 years since 'The Time Is Now' and 'Sing it Back' were constant fixtures on the nation's airwaves? Irish songstress Murphy leaves the chart-topping days of Moloko's electronica behind and on this, her second solo album, mixes her clear, evocative voice with Sixties funk and classic disco beats to great effect. The title track and album opener will get even the stiffest of toes twitching, while 'Let Me Know' recalls the best of Donna Summer and the Jackson 5. Against today's backdrop of grime, hip hop and garage beats, this album is hardly cutting-edge, but it's certainly a lot of fun. Katie Toms

Flamenco hybrids have been rife across Iberia for the last couple of decades, but this is surely the first to arrive via King's Cross. The brainchild of flamboyant diva Monte Palafox, an exiled Madrilena living in London, LaXula twist tumbling Hispanic guitars with gypsy fiddle and tango accordion. Recorded in the singer's shed, the sound is stark and theatrical, perfectly suited to Palafox's dramatic Spanish lyrics (sample translation: 'The sorrow that doesn't come out poisons'). 'Mama' and 'La Luna' celebrate the mysteries of female fertility; elsewhere, teeth are bared over love, guilt and vampires. Intense, colourful and intriguing. Neil Spencer

Chris Lee & Jenny Howe Second Take (33 Records) £13.99

Pop songs of the Thirties and Forties became the jazz standards of the Fifties and Sixties. Could pop songs of the Sixties, Seventies and Eighties do the same now? That's what pianist Chris Lee and vocalist Jenny Howe set out to explore, and they have come up with some surprising answers. Would you believe Cliff Richard's 'Summer Holiday' as a winsome ballad? Or John Lennon's 'Imagine' as a kind of cross between Bill Evans and Stevie Wonder? To recast well-known tunes in a new idiom is difficult enough, but to come up with such convincing results takes talent and imagination. Beautifully sung and played, too. Dave Gelly